Sales injunction against Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader denied

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When Barnes & Noble first unveiled their Nook e-reader to the public, we all gasped and sighed in want at their innovative combination of an e-paper panel with a smaller, LCD touchscreen, for use with data entry, applications and cover flow. But electronic esign house Spring Design had a different reaction: “Hey, wait a minute…”

They were right to be suspicious. Spring Design has been trying to get an official injunction against Barnes and Noble, preventing them from selling their Nook e-reader. The reason? Spring Design claims that B & N “misappropriated trade secrets.”

They allege that Spring Design worked closely with Barnes & Noble in 2009, believing that the book seller would use their Alex Android-based e-book reader concept, which also had a color touchscreen beneath an e-ink panel. Consequently, they shared hardware and software secrets with Barnes & Noble; when B & N pulled out, Spring Design claims that they took their ideas and secrets and stole them wholesale in the creation of the Nook.

That does sound suspicious. The courts think so too: while they’ve denied Spring Design’s request for an injunction halting sales of the Nook, they have noted the similarity between the two devices, and agree that there is a “genuine dispute” about whether Barnes & Noble used Spring Design’s ideas or came up with the Nook themselves, having conveniently forgotten about Spring Design’s demonstration and design concept.

I imagine, before all is said and done, that Barnes & Noble will have to settle with Spring Design… but at least prospective Nook owners won’t have to wait any longer to get their hands on the Holiday’s hottest new gadget.

Speak Your Mind

jqp

If B&N were really smart, they would have built a full featured tablet that could also function as a book reader. Who wants to pay $259 for a specialized, single purpose device when you can get a general purpose netbook for that amount?